The Perfect Steak

Updated: Mar 4, 2019

If there is one thing anyone should know about me when it comes to food, is that I absolutely love steak. It is one of two ingredients which make me very happy. The other is olive oil. Please don't ask me why because I would never be able to answer you. I love steak so much that right now in my freezer, there's more than 5 different cuts of it. The other reason I love steak is because my husband loves it. He almost always orders it whenever we are out, and for this reason, I have made it a point to try and perfect it at home. I am not doing too badly, if I do say so myself.

There are a few things to remember and take into consideration when making a perfect steak.

1. You need to season your steak well. If you think you have seasoned it well enough, season it a little more. This is how you know the seasoning is adequate.

2. A good quality, fresh steak doesn't need any complicated or over the top seasoning. Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper are usually enough.

3. Your steak needs to be at room temperature before you cook it. Take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before. If you cook a steak while it's cold, the outside will burn while the inside will be under cooked.

4. Your pan needs to be sizzling hot. Hot enough to sear the outside of the steak, but cool enough not to burn it. It is best to cook it in a cast iron skillet or a heavy bottomed pan. A thin bottomed or non stick pan WILL NOT work, unless you are cooking a minute steak.

5. Steak is started in olive oil in and finished in butter. Not margarine. It simply will not taste the same.

6. Testing for doneness. If you are a trained chef, you will probably know at what stage of doneness a steak is by just looking at it. For me, the method that works best is the palm test.

7. Let the steak rest for 10-15 minutes before you carve it, for the juices to redistribute inside the steak. If you carve if right away, all the juices will seep out.

Do you feel confident enough to make your own steak at home after all that, hopefully, useful information? Let me demonstrate the method.